In 2008, Damien Hirst dodged his long-time dealers and took a complete exhibition of his work straight to Sotheby’s. The unprecedented sale surpassed all estimates, bringing in roughly $200 million (of which his galleries at the time, Gagosian and White Cube, did not partake), and raising a major question: Do artists need galleries to sell their work?

“We want to bring the international art world here,”

Attending my first auction last week, I found myself looking at a group of Sotheby’s